A surgeon by profession, Dr Bharucha has been active in wildlife
and nature conservation for nearly fifty years. A well-known wildlife
photographer, he has traveled extensively and studied Indian National Parks and
Wildlife Sanctuaries. In 1993, he began developing the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute
of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER). He has been engaged in
implementing a variety of environmental education programmes for schools and
colleges and for the public at large.

The
educational processes of the life sciences have had a long tradition of Natural
History. Taught to children as ‘Nature Education’, it was primarily done
through developing their observational skills in the field. Thisled to some people developing a deeper
interest in Natural History, Botany and Zoology. Others became professionals in
specific fields of biosciences. For some it continued as a hobby and some even
became great amateur naturalists, or researchers. The educational inputs were
primarily taxonomic. However, in more recent times this has led to an interest
in behavioral ecology of species and finally habitat and ecosystem studies.

Globalization
has led less-developed nations to damage their own natural resources, including
degradation of soil and water resources. The growing impacts of economic
development during the last few decades requireda change in the nature education approach. Ill effects of
climate change and other disturbances of Nature such as biodiversity loss,
serious human health issues and abject poverty were portrayed to society
through a gloomy perspective of approaching doom.

In many
instances this grew into a negative feeling, especially among children and
young adults. It provided a sense of guilt, unhappiness, and an inability to
act against the enormous load of degradation changes that the Earth was
suffering on their account. It paralyzed rather than created pro- conservation
action.

During this
period, the beauty of nature was overshadowed by the need to reverse human
impacts on our earth. This trend in Environment Education which was followed in
the ‘70’s and into the ‘90’s through formal curricular processes, was expected
to lead to corrective measures through societal change. In our country EE was
also furthered at the behest of the Honorable Supreme Court, giving a directive
to the Ministries of HRD and MoEF to introduce EE into curricula. This infusion
of EE based on issues such as pollution control, tree plantation, and energy
conservation thus seeped into school curricula. Nature Education was left
behind as being essentially non-formal and unimportant.

A new
paradigm for Sustainable Development emerged in the 80sand 90s. It also created the need for
newer learning tools, which could demonstrate the linkages between ecological
issues, societal concerns and environmental aspects, embedded in an overarching
umbrella of governance. For many individuals Education for Sustainable
Development was seen as EE in another form, and was perceived as a vehicle for
unnecessary complex and quazi scientific jargon. It was yet another ‘turn off’,
leaving behind the need for empathy to Nature.

At the turn
of the century the approach of a possible biodiversity extinction spasm began
to be viewed as a major environmental catastrophe. Biodiversity conservation,
as a key concern for humanity, has led to the need for a new and currently
relevant approach to Nature Education that can recreate empathy with Nature.
The old educational pedagogy will have to move away froma purely taxonomic approach (as in the
past) to a deeper understanding of the linkages between species, ecosystems,
landscapes and human beings.

Understanding
Biodiversity Knowledge

The growing
trend of wildlife tourism in India and the popularity of Discovery Channel and
Animal Planet are evidences of growing interest in nature in India.

Studies at
BVIEER show that there is a need for reinventing connected-ness between
individuals and the ‘natural world’. As part of
a BVIEER outreachproject, flash
cards of animals were shown to rural and urban children to appreciate, which
they knew, what species interested them or excited their curiosity. The
children who lived around a Protected Area and had a personal exposure to the
wilderness, (unlike children from an urban background) did not have the
advantage of appropriate formal education, or other extracurricular inputs.
They had a heightened awareness of local wildlife as they saw these animals
around their settlements.

Content
analyses of school text books showed that greater and more relevant inputs on
biodiversity are needed at school level. However urban children who do not get
a chance to experience nature first hand are not necessarily unaware of the
richness of biodiversity in our country. Much of this information is from
electronic media and non- curricular books. This understanding of the
‘existence value’ of wild species cannot be expected to be as effective as real
life ‘experiential learning’.

College
students’ knowledge baseon
biodiversity which has been tested through semi structured interviews and
visuals of wildlife, demonstrated the poor level of knowledge of biodiversity
in college students. Content analysis of the UGC Text Book for the Core Module
Course prepared by BVIEER showed that if this text book is read carefully, and
understood by students at the undergraduatelevel (in all subjects) they will be adequately informed
about biodiversity conservation and relevant ecological concepts. During the
survey it was observed that students did not take the subject seriously, which
was either because of the incompetence of their teachers to deliver the course
in an interesting way, or the fact that it is not a subject that contributes to their grades.

The study
of Nature Interpretation sessions by NGOs and nature tour operators was found
to be inadequate to fulfill the needs of the participants. They followed a
taxonomic approach which cannot be expected to further a greater interest and
concern for biodiversity that could lead to action.

The
findings revealed that the knowledge of biodiversity in school children, college
students and adults was inadequate to create a pro-biodiversity conservation
ethic in a majority of respondents.

Reinventing Nature
Education

Innovative
strategies have been conceptualized and tested to reinvent Nature Education.
For example, participants may be introduced to the intricacies of the web of
life on a nature trail and facilitated to explore those on their own too.
Sessions that build upon the charisma of the tigerand other species, and emphasize the
beauty of nature can be introducedinto
nature trails. Field exposure must be incorporated into formal and non- formal
education systems for enhancing awareness on the values of biodiversity, and
creating empathy towards Nature. This leads to actions for sustainability in an
individual’s daily life.

At school
level the approach to reinvent Nature education may be two-fold. Improving the
skills of identification of locale specific species that people can observe,
and bringing in a sense of appreciation for the beauty within Nature. This is
of prime importance during early childhood when there is a natural interest in
animal life. The knowledgeof
intricate ecological concepts needsto
be built into the learnings of older school children. School text books should
discuss the need for wildlife and nature conservation in great detail. There
should be short field trips that foster an appreciation for Nature and help
them relate classroom teaching to their own environment.

At college
level, experiences in Nature and a scientific documentation of observations
made in well planned Nature Awareness Areas should be a

focus.
Ecological concepts of a higher level of complexity such as island biogeography
and eco-restoration, eco- sensitive areas, the need for Protected Area
Networks, as well as threats dueto
habitat fragmentation and wildlife poaching need to be discussed in the
classroom by their teachers and explored in the field.

Capacity
building in adults from different walks of life at various levels is essential.
Non formal Nature Education must become more accessible and affordable for all
sections of society. Using the feeling of discovery at experiencing nature’s
wonders produces a strong empathy towards nature. This initiating ‘Ah ha!’ must
be used by an interpreter to take the individual closer to nature, appreciate
ecological services, and link this to human impacts that can destroy the
splendor of the wilderness.

These
initiatives, when put together, reorient Nature Education towards current
needs. The empathy for Nature produced through these newly developed strategies
for Nature interpretation and education must move through the thread of Natural
History into Environment Education and Education for Sustainable Development.
Nature herself provides the trigger and real life experiences of wildlife and
an appreciation of its beautiful habitats. It provides the key to an empathy
with the earth.

Thus,
reinventing Nature Education can create a better and deeper understanding of
the concepts related to EE and ESD and lead to sustainable lifestyles.

Education for Change is the ENVIS publication of the Centre for Environment Education, India. EfC seeks to share views and experiences of education for sustainability.
EfC is supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, under its ENVIS programme.(http://www.envis.nic.in/)